Council bosses have been urged to act fast to lift the “doom and gloom” around a struggling North East high street.
As the demolition of the closed Gateshead Flyover nears, businesses and residents around the neighbouring Gateshead High Street are pleading for help to breathe fresh life into the area.
It has long been hoped that the removal of the crumbling concrete flyover could pave the way for a wider regeneration, with the council saying earlier this month that it wanted to “create a bigger, more inclusive community in this part of Gateshead, with accessible public spaces, safe walkable streets, and green areas”.
But there has been talk of such a redevelopment since 2008 and the project remains unfunded, while council plans for a £90 million revamp of the high street were unveiled in 2019 but have subsequently been delayed and downsized.
Locals who are desperate for change fear that many cannot afford to keep waiting for jam tomorrow, in a part of town that has had to cope with the flyover crisis, the closure of the former Davy Roll steel plant and major flooding to the Priory Court tower block in the last 12 months.
Regeneration needs to happen now
Andy Redfern, who runs the Green Heart preloved fashion store with wife Helen, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “When you talk to people at the council, they talk about things in five or ten years’ time – fair enough, the council needs to do that. Unfortunately, that is not the reality for people here.
“These are little businesses struggling for customers today, we cannot think about five or ten-year timescales. What has happened in this little bit of Gateshead in the last year or so is astonishing.”
Like many, Andy is hopeful that a proposed transformation of this historic Gateshead Town Hall into hundreds of new homes by regeneration experts Capital and Centric could be a “gamechanger” that would bring some much-needed vibrancy, though that is yet to reach the planning permission stage yet.
Helen added that, while local businesses have been “really pulling together” with initiatives like a Halloween ‘trick or treat’ trail this week, something more substantial is needed to boost footfall and “change the perception” of the high street.
A Friends of Gateshead Town Centre group was launched earlier this year to carry out litter picks, wash away graffiti, and make the high street a more appealing prospect for visitors.
Lack of faith in the council
But Luisa Scott and Lee Miles, who opened the popular Tynesider bar last summer, told the LDRS that local traders alone cannot be the “driving force” for change and that major investment is required to regenerate the area and clamp down on anti-social behaviour.
Lee said: “The problem is false promises and false starts. It hurts the morale of the people in Gateshead and they give up hope, apart from us and the other people trying to make a go of it.
“It feels like it is just doom and gloom in Gateshead and it is because we have not got a solid plan, something to look forward to. The council can say anything they want, but nobody believes them now.
“When change comes, people in Gateshead will come back to the high street. Towns die all over the country and then make a comeback. Town centres are never going to be what they used to be, nobody is stupid enough to think that.
“But if there were more positive changes and new places opening, people would support it.”
Regeneration has been proven to work
Luisa has urged the council and others not to “write off” the high street and pointed to the astonishing regeneration of Ouseburn in the last 20 years as proof of what can be done.
She added: “It was a dump, but now it is a cultural, artistic hub. That is what we want to bring here.”
Liam Bowering, who lives in the Park Court flats that are also set to be demolished, described the empty flyover as a “symbol of the wider view of Gateshead at the moment” and said he felt the town had become “stuck”.
The 25-year-old bingo hall worker added that the stalled development of the proposed Quayside arena means that “people don’t believe it anymore” when other regeneration is promised.
Council strategic director for economy comment
Anneliese Hutchinson, the council’s strategic director for economy, innovation and growth, insisted that big strides have been made in tackling anti-social behaviour(ASB) in Gateshead town centre and that more improvements will follow.
She said: “We know the vital importance of our town centre, and we have invested in improvements to help our businesses and improve the experience for their customers.
“It’s important to recognise that high streets up and down the country are struggling, given the competition from online retailers and the state of the economy generally and recognise the perception of the town centre needs to improve.
“So we are far from alone in needing to evolve the town centre offer, to make this a place people want to be, and we are looking both short term and longer term to do that
“Over the last year we’ve appointed two town centre ambassadors, funded a town centre manager, worked with the police and business to reduce ASB by a staggering 60%, applied for purple flag accreditation, worked with business, organised events and volunteering, improved the environment setting up a task force and improving public realm and funded and installed extra CCTV cameras.
“But this is only the start. As our bold and ambitious regeneration plans continue and demolition of the flyover and the vacant buildings in High Street South begins, some of the ground work we’ve put in over the last year will really start to have an impact.”
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